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The Story of the Lost Child
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1. How does Ferrante portray the complexities of female friendship, and how do Lila and Elena's relationship evolve throughout the series?
2. Why does Ferrante end the novel with Lila's disappearance? What does this signify about their relationship and the nature of their bond?
3. Is Elena's account of their friendship a reliable one, or is it filtered through her own biases and interpretations?
4. What does it mean when Lila gives Elena the two dolls at the end of the novel, and what are some possible interpretations of this gesture?
5. How does Ferrante portray the theme of female intelligence, and how does this intelligence challenge or threaten the existing social and patriarchal structures?
6. How does the novel explore the theme of motherhood, and how do Elena's experiences with motherhood shape her own identity?
7. What is the significance of the "lost child" in the novel, and who are some of the characters that might be considered "lost"?
8. How does the novel explore the theme of memory and nostalgia, and how does Elena's perspective of the past influence the narrative?
9. How does the novel's setting, both the neighborhood and the broader Italian landscape, impact the characters and their relationships?
10. How do Lila and Elena's personal struggles intersect with the larger political and social issues of Italy?
11. How does the novel explore the theme of boundaries, both physical and emotional, and how do Elena and Lila experience the dissolution of boundaries?
12. What is your interpretation of Elena's decision to write the story of her and Lila?
13. How does Ferrante's writing style create a sense of intimacy and immediacy in the narrative?
14. How does the novel engage with the concept of authorship and the relationship between the author and the characters they create?
15. What are some of the key moments or passages in the novel that resonated with you, and why?
16. How does The Story of the Lost Child build upon the previous novels in the Neapolitan Quartet, and how does it offer a satisfying conclusion to the series?
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2. Why does Ferrante end the novel with Lila's disappearance? What does this signify about their relationship and the nature of their bond? Lila erases herself deliberately. It leaves a hole in Elena's life that she will have to deal with and Elena writes the book to preserve Lila.
3. Is Elena's account of their friendship a reliable one, or is it filtered through her own biases and interpretations? it's unreliable
4. What does it mean when Lila gives Elena the two dolls at the end of the novel, and what are some possible interpretations of this gesture? it has many possible explanations; memory of childhood friendship, shared past, shared dreams, loss and motherhood. etc.
5. How does Ferrante portray the theme of female intelligence, and how does this intelligence challenge or threaten the existing social and patriarchal structures? One is displayed by writing a book etc and the other is less obvious but still a factor. In ferrante's novels females are always at odds with the patriarchal structures IMO.
6. How does the novel explore the theme of motherhood, and how do Elena's experiences with motherhood shape her own identity? Lila raises Elena's children as Elena is much good at motherhood. It also shows the challenges of being a productive part of society and also a mother.
7. What is the significance of the "lost child" in the novel, and who are some of the characters that might be considered "lost"? It can be many things, It can be the loss of one's childhood, security, innocence.
8. How does the novel explore the theme of memory and nostalgia, and how does Elena's perspective of the past influence the narrative? Elena struggles with motherhood and her own identity and Elena's perspective is what influences the readers perspective of Lila.
9. How does the novel's setting, both the neighborhood and the broader Italian landscape, impact the characters and their relationships? The setting is Naples and is crucial part of the story.
10. How do Lila and Elena's personal struggles intersect with the larger political and social issues of Italy?
11. How does the novel explore the theme of boundaries, both physical and emotional, and how do Elena and Lila experience the dissolution of boundaries?
12. What is your interpretation of Elena's decision to write the story of her and Lila? it was her way of dealing with the disappearance of Lila and a way of exploring her own identity.
13. How does Ferrante's writing style create a sense of intimacy and immediacy in the narrative? I didn't especially like this book, I did not like the author's writing and therefore I did not feel an intimacy with the story.
14. How does the novel engage with the concept of authorship and the relationship between the author and the characters they create?
15. What are some of the key moments or passages in the novel that resonated with you, and why? I did not like it.
16. How does The Story of the Lost Child build upon the previous novels in the Neapolitan Quartet, and how does it offer a satisfying conclusion to the series? I only read the first and last and doubt that I will read anymore by Ferrante. I don't appreciate her writing.
1. How does Ferrante portray the complexities of female friendship, and how do Lila and Elena's relationship evolve throughout the series?
Unfortunately, I did not read the series so I can not speak to the complete evolution of the friendship. In this last book, the relationship is well established in which they are both co-dependent practically, particularly in terms of childcare, but more important emotionally. They know each other well and are comfortable yelling at each other (although everyone seems comfortable yelling in this book). Yet they still have secrets from each other and the narrator, Elena, does not trust that Lila has her interests in mind.
2. Why does Ferrante end the novel with Lila's disappearance? What does this signify about their relationship and the nature of their bond?
The disappearance of Lila echoes the disappearance of Tina and even the throwing the dolls down the stairs. The two women are connected regardless of physical proximity because they occupy each other's past but with Lila's disappearance the nature of the future changes. They can not care for each other into old age if one of them is missing. The narrator, Elena, betrayed something fundamental in the relationship and Lila had to exit.
3. Is Elena's account of their friendship a reliable one, or is it filtered through her own biases and interpretations?
It is very filtered and reflects her circumstances in the past and in the present. For example, she is jealous of Lila's relationship with Nino but fails to see it is not just a thing of the past but an on-going relationship.
4. What does it mean when Lila gives Elena the two dolls at the end of the novel, and what are some possible interpretations of this gesture?
Their relationship has been very damaged by Elena's betrayal in writing her last book, by the fact that Lila is becoming less grounded and less focused on business, love, and children. The gift could be a way of saying that she still loves and thinks about Elena and that they can never completely escape their mutual past. It could also be a way of saying that she forgives Elena or it could be a final good-bye. Clearly it a complex and ambiguous ending that matches the varied emotions between the two friends throughout the book.
5. How does Ferrante portray the theme of female intelligence, and how does this intelligence challenge or threaten the existing social and patriarchal structures?
Again, I am left somewhat ignorant by the fact that I only read this book and not the series but from the beginning it appears that Manuela Solara was the brain in the family and therefore women were seen as potentially powerful and controlling. However, it was a very patriarchal society and Manuela suffered for this role. Elena and Lila both mature into very capable and successful women in fields that have traditionally been male dominated, i.e. writing books and running a business, and they were made to suffer also although in different ways. Elena rarely felt competent even when successful and Lila felt very competent but did not manage to effect the societal changes in the neighborhood that she ideally wanted. They were both respected however, at least at the height of their powers, so the society did in some way regard their intelligence as powerful.
6. How does the novel explore the theme of motherhood, and how do Elena's experiences with motherhood shape her own identity?
Elena strives to be a good mother but often makes decisions that will reward her own desires rather than putting her children first. She often leaves them with others, she often yells at them and she drags them back to a very bad neighborhood out of a sort of desperation that doesn't really reflect her possible choices. The children grow up to be competent adults but they don't really need to live with her. Her relationship with her own mother doesn't improve until her mother is dying. Ferrante does not describe for us any kind of ideal motherhood relationship. Lila who clearly had more innate mothering instincts also just let her child wander off (or let her be kidnapped).
7. What is the significance of the "lost child" in the novel, and who are some of the characters that might be considered "lost"?
I believe that Ferrante believes that we are all lost and gave us an ensemble of characters that would be examples of the different ways that we become lost...through the complications of family relationships, through betrayal of societal relationships, through the warping of cultural relationships. We are never whole but only pieces left over from the past assembled to manage to keep moving into the future.
8. How does the novel explore the theme of memory and nostalgia, and how does Elena's perspective of the past influence the narrative?
Elena both worships the relationship she had in the past with Lila and also finds it to be suffocating in a strange way as she carries jealousy with her from this teenage past and also Lila can be very manipulative and controlling so that Elena, to survive, often both defines herself by what Lila is not and yet sees herself as an integral part of who Lila is. She narrates from the point of view of a middle aged person, so much of her past memories are stories she has told herself again and again making their relationship nostalgic.
9. How does the novel's setting, both the neighborhood and the broader Italian landscape, impact the characters and their relationships?
Naples is truly a character in the book while Florence, Milan, and Rome where largely just "other cities". We really are given so many visual details of Naples and much of the neighborhood character is made very alive to us through architecture and people. One of the best parts of the book.
10. How do Lila and Elena's personal struggles intersect with the larger political and social issues of Italy?
We are told, but not really shown, although there may be more illustration in the other books in the series, the power struggles and corruption in both Naples and the larger national political landscape. We are given some definition regarding the communists versus the socialists and Nino's shift to the right in order to effect some change and also to gain personal power. We know that Pasquale needs to hide out and then to be jailed due to his actions in support of his beliefs, he is labeled a "terrorist" but it was not clear to me what he had done exactly to gain that description. He clearly was an activist and a Communist but the book's characters largely stand by him and support him. The most dramatic intersection with Elena and Lila is the Solara brothers and their management of the neighborhood while getting extremely rich, reflecting a deep corruption. Lila understands this corruption and decides to change the landscape in her own way. Elena attempts some feeble writing that goes no where.
11. How does the novel explore the theme of boundaries, both physical and emotional, and how do Elena and Lila experience the dissolution of boundaries?
The theme of boundaries is very fascinating in this book. The boundaries between Elena and Lila are sometimes well defined and other times very flexible and tentative. The boundaries between the children and the parents is also sometimes well defined by their personal characters and sometimes completely changed by outside circumstances. How Elena defines herself, as a daughter, a friend, a mother and a professional writer shifts radically depending on her love life and her relationship with Lila. She often wants to be very far away from Lila in order to keep her own boundaries in place. She often feels as if Lila will take over her life and her children if she doesn't maintain distance and then, she moves in on the floor above her.
Lila, during the earthquake, reveals her own issues with boundaries. She is very fearful of leaking away.
12. What is your interpretation of Elena's decision to write the story of her and Lila?
It is a betrayal but not one that Elena thought was severe. She assumed that Lila would get angry and then forgive as she had done in the past. Elena thought that she was in some way giving clarity to Lila. However, ultimately, I felt that Elena did it because it was a good story and she was a writer and she needed to have another book out there.
13. How does Ferrante's writing style create a sense of intimacy and immediacy in the narrative?
Having not read the whole series, I was at first rather horrified by all the conflict and all the yelling and screaming. These are good friends? These are lovers? Ferrante centers the reader on the personal conflict rather than on a larger plot or actions and so the whole narration becomes a bit like reading someone's personal diary, too intimate and too personal and eventually rather addicting.
Gail wrote: "Having not read the whole series, I was at first rather horrified by all the conflict and all the yelling and screaming. These are good friends? These are lovers? Ferrante centers the reader on the personal conflict rather than on a larger plot or actions and so the whole narration becomes a bit like reading someone's personal diary, too intimate and too personal and eventually rather addicting."I read the first book for my irl book club just this spring, so I got all three out of the library thinking I wasn't going to do this - just jump to the end like you did. But it's thousands of pages!! So maybe I should? Not for this month obviously, but I'm debating how much I want to live with these people really. Gail, it doesn't sound like you really felt that left out. What do others say - who read all four?
Jenna, you should read my review. I don't recommend jumping to the fourth book but I do understand your concern about spending so much time with these people. Also, you just read the first book so at least that will be fresh in your mind. I read the first book over 8 years ago.
Jenna, I recommend reading all four, the last one doesn’t make sense if you don’t have the full story. But note that I absolutely loved the series, and also the tv show that I saw afterwards.
